“I don’t want money. I was trying to explain how much that estate means to me … I was—”
“Then
It took every ounce of her will to stand still, bearing the judgment in that gaze. The pain in his words cut through her. “I want you to see your father. ”
The silence that dawned was so tense that Riya felt the tension wind around them like a tangible rope. The knot in his brow cleared, the icy blue of his eyes widened. It was the last thing he had expected to hear. That she had surprised him left her only shaking in her leather pumps.
“No. ”
Fisting her hands behind her, Riya pushed the words that refused to come under his scornful gaze. “Then I won’t sign it over. Ever. ”
She could practically hear him size her up, saw him reassess his assumptions about her in the way disbelief and then pity filled his gaze. He looked at her as though he was seeing her anew.
“Don’t push me into doing something I don’t want to. That estate—it’s the one thing in the entire world that means something to me. ”
His words were laden with emotion and so much more. And she understood that attachment—because she loved the estate too. But she couldn’t weaken now … now that he was here in San Francisco, so close to Robert.
“I’ve already made my decision. ”
TARA PAMMI can’t remember a moment when she wasn’t lost in a book—especially a romance, which was much more exciting than a mathematics textbook. Years later Tara’s wild imagination and love for the written word revealed what she really wanted to do. Now she pairs alpha males who think they know everything with strong women who knock that theory and them off their feet!
The Man to Be Reckoned With
Tara Pammi
From mathematics class to master’s degrees, through crushes on boys to crushing debts, through fights with our moms to marriages and babies—you’ve always been constant and unflinching in your support and love. This one’s for you, Sushma.
Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EPILOGUE
“HE MIGHT DIE
Nathaniel Ramirez looked up at the snowy, whitecapped mountain peak and gulped in a big breath. The words he had overheard the cardiologist say to his mother all those years ago reverberated inside his skull. The cold air blasted through his throat, his lungs expanding greedily.
Would this be the day?